Obama: Romney’s Taxes Don’t Add Up — Romney: `Of Course’ They Do

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama during a town hall style debate at Hofstra University on October 16, 2012 in Hempstead, New York.

“I am not going to have people at the high end paying less than they are now,” Republican Mitt Romney said of his plans to cut taxes across the board and eliminate or restrict tax exemptions to balance the cost. “I will not, under any circumstances, decrease the share that’s being paid by the high-end.”

Romney, in debate with President Barack Obama tonight, promised to reduce the tax burden on middle income families while reducing the deficit.

“My philosophy on taxes has been simple — and that is, I want to give middle income families, and people striving to be in the middle class, relief,” Obama said, pointing to tax cuts during his term. “We cut ‘em 18 times.”

“We’ve also got to be sure that the wealthy do a little bit more,”’ the president said, accusing Romney’s Republican allies in Congress of holding 98 percent of Americans “hostage” because they want to protect the top 2 percent.

“Governor Romney has a different philosophy,” Obama said. He was asked on CBS News “60 Minutes” if it’s fair for someone like him to be paying a lower tax rate than others, Obama said, and Romney replied yes it’s fair.

Asked about Romney’s pledge to balance the tax cuts for the wealthiest with exemption cuts, Obama said Romney’s cuts cost about $5 trillion. He wants to continue the Bush-era tax cuts — “another trillion dollars.” And also spend $2 trillion more on Defense. But when asked what loopholes will be closed to pay for all this Obama said, “he can’t tell you….

“We haven’t heard any specifics from the governor except for Big Bird and eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood,” Obama said, alluding to the first debate, in which Romney spoke of cutting federal aid for the Public Broadcasting Service.

“When we’re talking about math that doesn’t add up, how about $4 trillion of deficits over the last four years — $5 trillion,” Romney said. “We’ve had four consecutive years of when he said he’d cut the deficit in half. Instead, he’s doubled it.”